The Board of Trustees of the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) voted on January 7, 2015 to appoint Dr. Hugh Spurgin as its Interim President. At the same meeting, the Board thanked the outgoing president, Dr. Richard Panzer, for his valuable contributions to UTS since 2010 and wished him well.

UTS alumni, friends and supporters will be interested to hear that more than 600 Unificationists have signed the "Keep Barrytown College and UTS" online petition launched 3 days ago by Barrytown College students.

5 Things you did not know about Barrytown College

UTS-The Interfaith Seminary

UTS Through Students' Eyes

In my journey for new perspectives on meaningfulness, I discovered a newly published book, One Mind. At last, the iron curtain between science and spirituality is coming down as we look beyond theory and theology to honestly observing life on the inside and out.

Reading this book gave me a sense of relief. Anyone who has had any unexplained experience should find One Mind both fascinating and comforting. The well researched book explores many areas of conscious being including group behavior, sixth sense and near death experiences. Even before my research revealed that the author, Larry Dossey, MD is known as a reliable medical doctor who dares to erase the boundaries between science and spirituality while fully respecting both, I respected his honest openness and intellect. One Mind is Dossey's ninth book exploring dimensions of the mind-body-spirit dynamic, and is an exploration of harmonious life energy, which is often referred to by many names such as God, Allah, Buddha, Source, and Higher Mind.

In efforts to express the vast concept in words Dossey writes, "The One Mind is like an invisible, nonphysical cloud-computing platform with infinite storage capacity that is user free. There is no need for linkage, because all minds are already connected non-locally as a unitary whole." Yet in this connectivity, there is order that includes sorting out all knowledge and stimuli for the purpose of being present to ourselves and those closest to us. He gives the example that a mother can intuit what is happening to her child, yet not be bombarded by the situation of all children. My understanding is that we are given the knowledgeof what we need when we need it as to be most effective where needed in accord to our heart's true desires. Dossey concurs to the idea that love is the "lubricant" that binds us, a concept that opens the door to understanding connection with each other beyond time and space, even beyond earthly life.

In the book, we take a journey through science, psychology, religion, philosophy, mathematics, the arts and other disciples to explore many life questions and find the connectiveness in our beings.

The stories of remarkable experiences such as people who had known of tragedies occurring miles away or in the future, communication between humans and animals, and visits from deceased loved ones are most engaging. Dossey reveals technical and esoteric explanations to real, yet unusual events. For example, clarifying how the One Mind acts in responding to need, Dossey compares the entity to a natural dynamic in a human body. "Like stem cells, the One Mind, the Source, awaits instructions and prompting." There seems to be a higher intelligence that creates vital support as yearned for. This energy rallies assistance from the people around us as if there is an innate communication system far more advanced than smart phones.

As individuals interact with one another, we find that we are not so "individual" but more of a blend of our original constitutions with influence from others. Where are the lines between you and me and us? Similar to how bits of light move into the dark of night to eventually bring in day, using the mathematic concept of fractals, Dossey describes the fuzzy line between unique persons. We are both our own being and contain fractals of others within our identity. Conversely, is experiencing self as separate from others that which permits us to take a perspective of being higher or lower and entering power play? Is individual isolation a mindset that blocks allowance for compassion and even effective problem solving?

The section called "Accessing the One Mind," gives general guidance for consciously connecting with the energy. Dossey explains working with dreams, developing compassion and practicing meditation as a few of the methods. He seems to be careful to keep from going into specific spiritual practices, yet states that knowledge of One Mind is key to an improved experience of life. He goes, as far as to say, "unity, commonality and a One-Mind consciousness are not philosophical niceties but necessities preventing our decent into depravity." My personal experience as a counselor concurs that there is a high correlation between building a mindfulness of a Higher Source with a person's health and happiness.

Perhaps lacking awareness of the One Mind, the energy behind uncanny circumstances and miracles, may come from having a perspective crowded with trivialities as if the bowl to fill us with knowledge is already full of ideas. "Silence means that a place has been created where a higher form of knowing can enter," Dossey confirms.

Reading One Mind was like being informed by a compassionate authority on the state of being. Like a doctor with excellent bed-side manners, difficult topics were addressed with sound knowledge and personal care. The book kindly entices the reader to gain awareness of connectivity I can imagine that every human can relate to at least one if not many of the accounts retold in the book, and will gain a sense of relief to both know that "the unusual" is not abnormal and there are multifaceted explanations.